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Monday, March 5, 2012

The Writer's Stop, Drop, Roll

Firefighters teach us to stop, drop, and roll if our clothing ever catches on fire. For writers, the flames of fear and discouragement can destroy our dreams. What should a writer do to extinguish these dream killers?

STOP! If you catch yourself in negative self-talk, examine your thought life. Replace those words with positive, faith-filled expressions.

DROP! Leave the pity party behind. The things that make you want to give up won't always be there. They will pass. Everyone has good and bad days.

ROLL! See the positive side of rejection and negative feedback. Instead of allowing them to be the knock-out punch, roll with them and use the experience as a steppingstone.

25 comments:

Hi Susan .. that's a good analogy - and the next day everything is different isn't it.

I have to admit during the last five years when both my uncle and my mother (in-laws) were/are ill .. when another challenge came up .. I'd mentally turn on my heel and rethink .. re calibrate perhaps ...

My uncle remarked he didn't know how I coped. Thankfully I was able to rattle and roll with him - rationalise my thoughts .. and he helped me as well, but I didn't dwell on things that were irrelevant or would upset him - I just got on with solving what I could .. and life moves on.

A good learning curve .. Have a good week .. this is a great post! Cheers Hilary

Sometimes, I just lay low for a while. And that seems to get me back on track. I sent 21 submissions last month. Now I rest a bit, but when the bug bites, I'm back at it. I shall now associate STOP-DROP-ROLL with writing. Good topic.

This is so timely for me, Susan. I've been wallowing in some negative feedback and have been reminding myself that it really is an easy fix in the grand scheme of things. There's no growth without a little pain, right? :)

Wow, Susan, what a great analogy for us writers to chew on. Thanks for posting this. I'm going to remember "stop, drop and roll." I once talked with a counselor and he said something similar: "recognize the destructive message and refute it with the truth." We have to replace those negative thoughts with God's Words. Have a blessed day.